Corruption
by iced1
Summary: Legolas is visiting his father in the Greenwood when a scout reports an attack on their camp by orcs bearing a white ‘G’ rune. Legolas immediately requests the presence of Gimli and Aragorn. Can the three put a stop to this new treachery?
1. Chapter I

**Corruption**

                   By iced1

This is my second attempt at this plot, only that I've changed it considerably. I personally think this is more than a hundred times better than my last attempt, which was months ago. I have had more experience in writing fanfiction, and I really hope you'll give me a chance.

**Chapter One**

Legolas Thranduilion, Lord of the elves of Ithilen sat silently on his mount, his head gently bobbing along with his steed's steady footfall. Just over two days ago, he had departed from his city and began the journey to the Greenwood to pay his father, the king, a very overdue visit. As his white mare plodded around a sharp corner, he took in the beautiful azure sky with its tints of red and gold. He stared at the sunset for a while before dropping his gaze, letting out an involuntary gasp. About half a league away there stood the beginnings of his childhood home. Right in the middle of the fringe of the forest was an entrance created by two tall trees leaning in together, covering a dirt path that was wide enough to fit two horses.

He urged his mare into a canter and the elven-horse raced across the grassy plains, the long blades of grass bending over as she passed. Within the next half hour, he had arrived at the entrance. He directed the mare onto the path and felt a flutter rush through his body. _'How good it is to be home again.'_ He thought to himself. The forest was in the exact same state he had left it in so many years back. When he had last seen the trees of his beloved home, the war had just ended, and the evil shadow had been lifted from the forest. The leaves of the trees were no longer a green so dark that it could be called black, but a bright and healthy green that glinted with the sunshine that could once more pour through the gaps in the canopy. The branches no longer held stray wisps of broken cobwebs and now and then his sharp elven ears could pick up the chirping of a bird or cricket.

As his mare walked deeper and deeper into the forest, he began to notice a drastic change. It wasn't only in appearance, but... well, _everything. _Soon, all he could hear was the gentle _clip-clop_ of hooves. The trees in this area of the forest were a lot darker. The air was still and Legolas began to undergo the unforgettable feeling of foreboding. It was almost as though he had gone back seven decades to when Sauron had set up his dwelling in the now demolished Dol Guldor. _'At least there are no cobwebs around warning me of those treacherous spiders'_ he mused, a shiver running through his torso.

His mare halted her footsteps, stomping her feet on the ground, tossing her head about and snorting. Legolas leaned down slowly, peering at what had upset her. He squinted and leaned further in trying to see the object on the ground more closely. He finally jumped off his horse and walked over to examine the object. What he saw surprised him greatly.

A great footprint of the steel boot of an orc was pressed into the earth. Legolas touched it and confirmed that the footprint was not new. He wasn't that great of a tracker though, and he had no idea exactly how old it was. He shrugged himself back onto his feet and climbed back onto the bare back of his horse. He pushed his knees together gently and his mare reluctantly pulled herself over the print in the ground.

---

"Laegolas!" Legolas dropped lightly onto the ground beside his horse and grinned. He knew exactly who the owner of the voice was, even though the two elves had not met in several years.

"Ada!" He cried out even before he had turned completely. He had just come through the silver gates, which he was glad to see still recognized his command of opening: the raising of his right hand.

"How did you know it was me, my Greenleaf?" the king asked, enveloping his son in a hearty embrace.

"You called me Laegolas, ada. I know you are the only one here that uses my Quenyan name." came the muffled reply from the younger elf, whose mouth had been squashed against the emerald green robes of the king. Thranduil let go of his son and rewarded him with a grin.

"Come along, son. Your room has been left untouched since your last time here." Thranduil put his arm around his son's shoulders and pushed him towards the open double stone doors, leaving an elven maid hurrying along after them with Legolas' pack while another took the white mare by the reins and led her to the stables.

Legolas walked a few steps ahead of his father through the doors. The Entrance Hall had remained pretty much the same, save for a giant tapestry depicting the end of the War of the Rings that spanned across the stone walls. Legolas couldn't help but smile at the thought that the elves of Greenwood had actually made something out of the long and fruitful tales of his travels with the fellowship that he had told them upon return from Minas Tirith. He walked over and ran his finger over the cloth, marveled by how closely it resembled the actual battle scene.

"You can gaze at the tapestry later, my son. I asked the maidens to weave it for you as a homecoming present."

"Thank you ada." He whispered, before following his father up the steps to the second floor, the maiden carrying his pack still hurrying behind him. He walked up the stairs, memories flooding back into his head. Running down the stairs with his nurse chasing madly after him. Creeping down the stairs to sneak some food back to his room for a midnight snack. Tripping over a new bow and rolling down a whole flight of stairs. _'It has been too long.'_ He told himself.

He allowed himself to be ushered into his old room, which looked exactly the same, save for the linens, which looked a whole lot newer than before. He barely heard his father telling him to take a bath and join him for dinner in a few hours time. He looked over every square inch of wall and floor, his arms laden with the towel and clothes he had accepted from the maiden as her speech went through one ear and immediately came out the other. He laid the clothes and towel on the drawer and flopped himself down on his mattress, glad to be home at last.

---

**A/N:** allow me some time complete this story, please. I won't be updating every other day or something, but bear in mind: **reviews = encouragement** and **encouragement = quicker updates ** ;)


	2. Chapter II

**A/N:** sorry it's been such a long time... it's been how long? Two months? The teachers have decided that 'oh, she's giving them a ton of homework, why don't I follow her example?'. Gah. But here it is anyway. The third one will be up once I write the fourth... heh. 

---

Legolas sat in the Dining Hall, twiddling his thumbs as he politely conversed with the elves of the Greenwood. They elf-maidens in particular seemed to be ecstatic when they entered the hall and saw him sitting next to the King's seat at the long table. They rushed up to him and batting their eyes and cooing adoringly.

"Good Morning, milady." Legolas said robotically with a brief nod, trying to suppress his exasperation. _'Where in Middle Earth is Ada?'_ he thought as yet another elf-maiden scurried away from him to join her friend at a bench, giggling happily. He had grown accustomed to a completely different way of breakfasting during his years of lordship over the elves of Ithilen. Here, the servants served the Prince and the King only when they were both present together; there, the prince could just simply sit himself in any random chair and take a roll out of any random basket that had been placed on the any of the tables.

"Good Morning, Prince Legolas! Such a –"

"That is enough Ailin, you may converse with the prince later." The dark haired elf pouted her lip at the king and swept away, her long hair missing the prince's face by a mere fraction of a centimeter.

"Thank you ada, I do not know if I could have coped with any more maidens trying to win my hand." Legolas muttered as his father sat down with great gusto. "Life certainly has not changed around here one bit."

"I know you hate the attention you are receiving from the maidens, Legolas Thranduilion, but you really must begin thinking about we–"

"Father, how many times must I tell you? I do not wish to wed. At least not yet."

"But you are a member of the royal family. It would be such a shame if a handsome elf _prince_ like yourself did not–"

"They do not love me, ada, they love my title."

"I understand, my son, but you will be able to find love in one of th–"

"**Your Highness!**" A shout erupted from the doorway out to the lawns, causing all the fair heads scattered around the hall to whip around to face the noise. _'Thank you...'_

"Your highnesses! King Thranduil, Prince Legolas." A golden haired scout in forest green traveling attire bobbed his head frantically at the two elves respectively. 

"What is it, Túrante?" King Thranduil asked the panting elf that stood in front of them at the very end of a trail of muddy footprints.

"_Yrch!_" the scout replied dramatically.

Thranduil snorted and leaned back in his chairs, tapping his fingertips together, an amused expression upon his face. "No really, Túrante. What is it?"

"Your highness, what I have just told you is true. Our camp has been attacked by orcs. I have here with me the poisoned orc arrow that felled Erucallo."

Thranduil looked flabbergasted. "Orcs? The creatures have not been sighted in this part of the land for many a year. Are you sure of this?"

Something snapped in Legolas' mind. "Ada,"

Thranduil's gaze was upon him in a split second. "yes, Legolas?"

"When I riding here, I saw a very clear orc print embedded in the dirt path."

Thranduil's healthy hue disappeared into a deathly white as he took the . "B-but... what did they look like?"

"Dark. Hideous. Black hair twisted into thick braids. They bore the G rune." replied Túrante.

Whispers broke out among the elves that were close enough to the King and the scout to overhear the conversation.

Legolas' eyes widened in shock and let out an involuntary gasp. "The G rune?"

Túrante turned himself towards the prince and nodded slowly, his face clouded over with confusion. "Yes, Prince Legolas, the G rune. Of the script of Angerthas." Túrante produced a form of something wrapped in dirty cloth from what seemed to be nowhere. He set it down on the table and stood back, evidently waiting for some form of clarification of what had caused Legolas' sudden distress. Legolas gingerly raised his right hand and pressed the first fold of cloth between his thumb and index fingers and peeled it back. His other hand automatically raised itself onto the table and did the same to the other side. Sure enough, in the middle of the cloth was a bloodstained breastplate. Upon it, painted smack in the middle, was indeed a shining white G rune.

"Mithrandir..." Legolas knew of only one being who's sign was the angerthas rune standing for the letter G. 

"What was that?" Thranduil pried his eyes away from the arrow that he was turning over in his fingers and directed them back towards his son while Túrante looked on, his face screwed up in frustration and curiosity.

"G... Gandalf... Mithrandir?" Legolas muttered slowly, as if he were trying to solve a particularly hard arithmetic problem.

"Don't be foolish, dear boy, Mithrandir passed across the sea many a year ago."

Legolas stood from the table and walked out of the Hall, his eyes glazed over, barely concentrating on where his feet were leading him. His stomach gave out a low borborygmus as if trying to call him back to the table, but he continued to walk slowly across the Entrance Hall, his shoes gently padding the white stone floor.

He found himself sitting at his desk a few minutes later, a piece of paper under the spread out fingers of his left hand, a pen enclosed within his right hand, hovering just millimeters away from the S of his signature. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the letter he had just written.

_Aragorn,_

_I am currently in the Greenwood, and am in dire need of your assistance. Orcs have killed our scouts while camping in the forest, their armor bearing a symbol that only one person has ever used. If you and Gimli could ride as fast as you could here, I would be most gratified and indebted._

_Please pass my regards on to Arwen and the unborn child,_

Prince Legolas Greenleaf --- 

**A/N:** hope you enjoyed it even though it can't compare to some of the stories I've been reading recently. I realize that Gandalf is more likely to use Olórin or something else as it symbolizes him in a more powerful form.

**Her:** a mary sue... such an insult you hypo.  
**Lomiothiel:** thanks mellon nin, I appreciate the review and I'm terribly sorry for not updating sooner  
**Wilwarin:** thanks for the correction. I'll keep Laiqualasse in mind for next few stories... if I ever find the time to write this one. I'll jot a note down to reupload the first chapter.  
**Deana:** even I'm not too sure what danger he'll get into. Lol!  
**[soccer freak]:** thanks, Audrey. I think.


	3. Chapter III

**A/N: It's been a while since I last updated, but I've been overloaded with homework. It's the Chinese New Year break and the reporting period, so not so much homework. I'll try and get the next update in soon.**

**---**

**Corruption : Chapter III**

                                                          By iced1

Horns rang through the still air, causing Legolas to jump up from his place under the shade of a giant oak tree. He peered at the trees on the other side of the courtyard, looking in between 

Sure enough, he saw the tip of a banner, green and silver like the armor of the Gondorian soldiers he had come to be too familiar with. He brushed the grass off his robes and walked quickly, but unhurriedly to the gate. As he neared the gate, the soft _clip clop_ of hooves slowed considerably before pulling to a stop. He raised his right hand, and the gates swung open to reveal mounted soldiers of the King's Guard.

"Hail Elessar, King of the West!" Legolas said courteously as he bowed low.

"Hail Legolas Thranduilion!" replied the king.

Legolas extended a hand, helping the king off his steed. They embraced each other briefly before looking at each other closely.

"Mae Govannen, Mellon-nîn. 'Tis good to see you again, Legolas."

"It is good to see you again as well, Aragorn." they exchanged informal greetings as they clasped each other's arms.

"Hrmph." came a low grunt from a pony, "no hellos to Gimli?"

A smile played at Legolas' lips as he bowed his head graciously, "it is wonderful to see you again Gimli, son of Glóin."

"Hrmph." The dwarf said again. He allowed himself to be helped off his pony and he fell heavily to the floor with a great _thud_.

Legolas turned his attention back to Aragorn and nodded towards the guard who were still seated atop of their horses.

"Arwen." The king muttered shortly as an explanation. 

"I should have known. How is she, mellon-nîn?"

"With child."

"That I know, Estel."

"Legolas! Stop looking at me like that!" hissed the king as he caught sight of the mirth dancing in the elf's eyes.

"Like what?" the elf responded innocently. Their argument subsided as Gimli let out another grunt, obviously wanting his presence to be acknowledged.

The two friends parted and the smirk dropped off of Legolas' face. They stood still glaring at each other playfully as Gimli took a stride, standing in between them.

"Well, come on, what are you waiting for?" Gimli said, breaking the silence that had formed between the three companions, "let us get into the dining hall, I haven't any more holes in my belt to tighten it!" He extended two stubby arms and splayed his hands across each of the taller being's backs and pushed them forward into a trot.

"My Lord?" came a tentative call from behind them.

Aragorn spun around, "yes, Brégiond?"

"What of the horses?"

"There's a stable just around the bend in the path, you can hand them to the stable-hands." Legolas answered for the king.

---

The threesome entered the Dining Hall and the flowing chatter immediately ceased and all eyes turned towards the doorway, fixed on the two strangers that stood on either side of their prince. They took in the taller being, the man, and his kingly robes and his stance and broke out in whispers. Out of the corner of his eye, Legolas saw Aragorn stare up at the ceiling, pretending he could either not hear the compliments being thrown his way or simply could not understand the elvish language.

As abruptly as the chatter had started up, it died down again as they lowered their gaze and let it rest upon the short, stocky figure with his fiery red hair and beard. Gasps rang out around the room before eyes started narrowing into slits at the dwarf.

The contempt and dislike towards dwarves lived still in the inhabitants of the Greenwood. What their prince was doing with one of _them_, standing by it like a friend, was completely beyond them.

Legolas gently steered the uncomfortable beings to the table he and his father shared during meals and bade them sit down, which they did, but only after casting a wary eye about the hall. The servers cautiously served them and were just rushing away when King Thranduil walked through the doors and sat down with his usual flinging back of his robes. He nodded briefly to Gimli and sat down next to Aragorn and struck up a polite conversation with him on politics.

Legolas was expecting Gimli to be treated worse than this. His father had been loath to allow Gimli to enter his realm without being thrown into the dungeons just as his dwarf-friend's father had been.

_"Legolas, I have read this letter you wrote to Estel, and I approve of your choice, as he was raised by Lord Elrond. But son, I ask you, surely you cannot be serious about asking a **dwarf **for aid?"_

_"Father, if you are referring to Gimli, son of Glóin, I urge you to remember that Lord Elrond, whom you seem to speak mightily of, chose him to be one of the fellowship as well."_

_"His being one of the fellowship has nothing to do with this, son. Do you not understand that he is a dwarf? That alone must be good enough to explain-"_

_"Explain what, father. It does not explain anything. He is but a dwarf, who cares?"_

_"Who cares? He is a dwarf, and dwarves are by nature greedy, gloating, hungry good for nothing beings that walk this land!"_

_"Father, should death fall upon you, there will be no way in Middle Earth to persuade Mandos to grant you a rebirth. You have insulted one of Aulë's creations. Aulë, father. The honest, intelligent – "_

_"Valar who caused the Noldor to become so greedy. All of Aulë's creations are greedy! I don't care, Legolas. He's a dwarf, and I refuse to let such an untrustworthy being walk freely in my realm."_

_"Lord Elrond trusted him, atar, why can you not follow in his footsteps?"_

_"Lord Elrond? Hah!" Thranduil scoffed, "He trusted everyone, son. His beliefs regarding who to trust and who not to trust have been proven to be unreliable."_

_"O Eru! We all walk on this Middle-Earth, do we not? Is it too hard for you to get along with the other beings that dwell in this land? **I** would trust Gimli, son of Glóin, with my life, dwarf or no. Isn't **that** reason enough to allow him to stay here for a little while?"_

_Thranduil let out an infuriated growl. "Fine. Do what you will. I will house him and feed him, but I refuse to arm or strike up conversation with him."_

_Legolas threw his hands up in exasperation and stalked off in the other direction. "Good enough!"_

_"Just think about what he would do to your title as Prince!" he heard his father call after him._

Legolas heaved a sigh as he recalled the conversation, which had taken place a week earlier. The two members of the royal family had allowed a simple question to form into a large argument over dinner in front of the elves. Father and son had been unable to look each other in the eye for almost two days. He noticed that his father was attempting to keep his eyes off the dwarf, who was eating with outlandish table manners, but his narrowed eyes kept falling upon the miniature stocky figure seated beside the man. The tension in the air could be cut with a butter knife.

The prince stood as his two friends finished their meal, and announced that he would be showing the guests to their rooms.

---

**A/N: Can anyone tell me if the elvish for father is ada or atar or adar? I know for names its atar, as in Illúvatar, but what about just plain ol' father?**

Also, I'm extremely partial to reviews. Lovely things, them. A few notes to the reviewers of the last chapter (I thank them)

**Jullez:** Greenleaf is not his last name; it is merely a common-tongue translation for 'Legolas'. Thranduilion mean Thranduil's son. And he was originally from Mirkwood, but if you read the appendix, you will find that he takes a colony of elves to Ithilien.

**Wilwarin:** ah, yes, I knew that! haha. But really, I did, I just forgot the name, so I put in the common-tongue for it. I don't want to risk opening my copy of LotR, or more pages might fall out :( Thanks for your nit-picking, it's really helpful

**Artemisa:** don't worry, there will be no mary sues in this one.

**The Lauderdale:** yeah, I see what you mean now. I do seem to have a bad habit of writing series of contradictions. But hey, so did Tolkien! Elves aren't supposed to have beards, but Círdan does! I always did see Legolas as a rather unintelligent elf though. His repetitive cries of 'orcs!' or 'yrch!' do tend to strike me as stupid. I'll see if I can fix it later, thanks a bunch.

And more thanks go to **Dimathiel** and **Deana**. Hope I didn't leave you hanging for too long. Heh.

 |

\ /  … click?


	4. Chapter IV

**A/N: **It's been nigh onto three months since my last update. Actually, it has been exactly three months. There wasn't a cliffie last time, though, so I hope any old readers will forgive me. I'm laughing really dryly.

But I have been quite busy. Okay, not really, but I was concentrating on learning how to vector and stuff (graphically speaking, not mathematically speaking). I did actually post a story. A stupid story. A Harry Potter story. I recommend it if you're seriously bored out of your mind.

---

**Corruption: Chapter IV**

                                By iced1

An orc held his hand up, and it's comrade halted beside him. Behind the two leaders, the rest of the troop screeched to a stop, tumbling one over the other in a jumble of limbs and sharp weaponry.

"Ashgûl! By Incánus' will, do not stop moving so suddenly and without warning!" an orc whined as he stood from the edge of the pile of orcs with a grunt.

"If you paid any attention to me, you wouldn't have fallen." Ashgûl sneered back at the lesser orc.

"It is no easy task noticing your hand rise when your arms are so short," another said, brushing saliva off of his bloodstained armor. "Why don't you ask the master for longer arms the next time your kissing the ground on which he – arrgh!" His sentence was cut short by a sword that had made its way through his leather jerkin.

"That was uncalled for, Ashgûl," said the other leader, "what did you smell?"

"Man flesh."

"When last you said that, Ashgûl, we wound up sitting atop of the rocks from sunrise to sunset. There are no men in these parts, only elves."

"You shut your mouth or you'll be doing the same on your own." Ashgûl laid the edge of his blade on the offending orc's neck. "We march forth!"

"Wait!" hissed a scout, "listen!"

"To what? The lute that plays naught? The birds without voice?"

"Can't you hear it?"

--

"Then my father yelled for all to hear –"

"Stay your tongue, dwarf. This is neither the time or place for your loud banter."

"Dare you tell a dwarf to stay his tongue? You and that man have done nothing but talk – amongst yourselves!"

The short figure hurried after two fast-paced beings that were twice his height. To anyone passing by, this may have been a strange sight.

It was but three days after Gimli and Aragrorn's arrival at the halls of the elven realm, and they were trekking through bush and foliage. The forest was overgrown and had the dwarf been silent, only the scuttling of insects could be heard.

"Keep up if you wish to converse with us and remain in our society." Legolas called over his shoulder.

The dwarf ran after the man and the elf who were disappearing in between giant oak trees. As he shoved both beings aside and strode alongside them in between them, he rapped both in the shins with the handle of his axe.

"Well? I've caught up with you, what more must I do to have either of you converse with me?"

Aragorn grinned down at the dwarf, answering that the dwarf would have to be quiet.

"It's rather hard to be quiet when my tongue is parched!"

"Contradictory, Lord Gimli. Were your tongue genuinely parched, you could not say a word. Besides, we've only one small pouch of water left, we have none to spare." Aragron said, knocking Gimli's head with the sheath of his sword.

Legolas bade the two of them be quiet, and they continued forth in silence.

--

"Do you see that?' On that shore yonder."

"Legolas, we have not the same eyesight your kind has been gifted with."

"Blood. Orc blood by the looks of it. It still glistens in that little patch of sunlight that filters through those leaves above it."

"Shall we track the orc down? It may be a trap."

"It may also lead us to a camp. It cannot be a trap, Estel, they would not expect a man to be so wayward that he becomes lost in these woods. Nor could they possibly think an elf would venture so deep into this place without light."

"What say you, dwarf?"

"I say that I am so thirsty that Aluë could pass afore me and I would not even blink."

"Well, to track the orc down, we will have to pass that stream. You can drink from it if you're so thirsty."

"Legolas!" Aragorn reprimanded the elf, "how can you tell Gimli to drink from these streams? The water could contain something foul."

"Oh for Eru's sake, Estel, these waters have been void of toxins since the cleansing of Dol Guldor. I will drink and step into the water first, and you will see that I will not fall asleep."

True to his word, Legolas placed stepped into the water and jumped lightly onto the other bank. He kneeled down and drank the stream water out of his hands. "Do you take my word now, Estel?"

Gimli ran through the stream and was drinking greedily already; Aragorn only shrugged before jumping onto the other side of the stream.

"Gimli, come away from your liquid feast and let us leave this place."

Gimli reluctantly drained his hands and stood up. His eyes grew wide, and he shouted "Legolas!"

Aragorn followed the dwarf with his eyes and saw that the fair being was beginning to slump onto the ground. He ran and joined Gimli in trying desperately to wake the elf up. 

"Legolas, wake up!" Aragorn slapped the elf on the cheek while Gimli shook his torso. Suddenly, Gimli stopped moving and Aragorn grew panicked.

"Gimli!" He reached his hand out to steady the falling dwarf. His eyelids began to droop and he saw the rocks and dirt path begin to swirl around him.

He knew no more.

----

**A/N: **A short chapter, I know that much. I know it wasn't worth a read, but at least something happened, yeah?

Anyway, Incánus is Gandalf's name in the south. I'm going to say that these orcs came from the south. Acceptable enough, yes?

Also, I am quite aware that my Mirkwood geography isn't accurate.

Let's just pretend that a stream was created in the middle of mirkwood through very fast erosion or something. I don't know.

Hope I didn't lose any reviewers since the last update, and I'm really truly very sorry if you're still reading after such a long time.

**Aislynn Crowdaughter: **nope, no Legomance in this one. I love that word, I think I'll use it unintentionally. I actually didn't notice that little bit. :meek grin:

**Deana:** Didn't exactly heed your words, and I'm sorry. Thanks for the explanation.

**Esselar:** ah, that bit about elves flirting, it's an inside joke thing I have with a few of my friends ;). I always imagined elves to be serene unhurried beings as well. Haha.

**Dimwitted Dimathiel:** so I added the first bit to your name. I'm laughing at nothing. I've updated, so now you have to review. And yes you may slap the cheeky grin off my face.


	5. Chapter V

**Corruption**

By iced1

_A/N: it's been almost three months since my last update. If I've managed to keep the interest of any of my old reviewers, then I thank you for your patience, and for waiting so long. I don't have a very good excuse, especially now that I'm into the fourth week of my summer vacation. I do not blame anyone if they wish to shoot my head off. This is a miserable update. I'm home alone and I have more than thirty minutes of time on the computer without my parents here to keep kicking me off so I can go do a variety of chores or do something 'more productive'. It's not fun…_

_Anyway, I'm just saying that I know that this is a miserable update, but I finally really have plans for the next chapter. Stay your anger, and hopefully the next chapter will come out in less than two weeks this time._

---

---

**Chapter V**

Aragorn opened his eyes to a breathtaking sunset, the stench of death, disease and orc. He snapped his eyes shut before slowly, tentatively opening one eye so that he could see through he small slit between his lids. He knew he was being carried at a fast pace by two brutes - most likely lackeys of his former friend and co-mentor (the other had been his adoptive father). That was obvious; were they in his position, any being of any race could find such knowledge simply by the jostling of their body, the loss of feeling and circulation in his arms, the sunlight and shadow battling over his face, and the way that his eyesight attempted to fool his brain into thinking that the clouds above were running in the wrong direction.

'Well you're out of the forest, that's for sure,' said a voice in his head as he shut his eyes to stare at the flickering dark red hue that stood at the back of his eyelids once more, 'though I don't know why that would be any sort of good news. Is not Gandalf currently in command of Dol Guldur?'

Aragorn willed that voice to cease its seemingly incessant talk. More confusion was the very last ingredient to a mental breakdown, something he did not want to experience any time soon. His budding headache was enough to deal with when there was no means of ebbing it.

'What on Arda had happened?' The voice in his head had returned.

Swirling mud and foliage … _the water could contain something foul_ … a stream – no, an **enchanted** stream … Legolas on the ground and Gimli slowly collapsing into the fair elven body … _I will step into the water first, and you will see that I will not fall asleep._

Those were the typically wise words of Legolas, but this time, he had been wrong. Legolas?

Legolas and Gimli! Where were they? Were they alright? The questions that his mind has been subconsciously asking had finally hit home.

"This one's awake."

Aragorn cursed himself mentally for not taking precautions to allow his awareness to remain unnoticed by the orcs holding him. His thoughts were silenced as the pounding of feet rang in his ears, and a clock on the head sent him spiraling into blackness.

---

The distinct sound of a blade digging and scratching its way into material sounded close to the elf's right ear. Legolas' eyes flew open and he twisted his head to find an orc-blade working its way through his cloak, cutting off the elven scripture embroidery. It was a sign of Lasgalen Royalty, and no elf outside of the royal household had ever been able to produce a copy of it.

Legolas' hands made to fly to the hilt of one of his twin daggers, but bonds holding his wrists together, pressed to his back, stopped his hand. His head jerked violently, trying to shoo the dagger and the ugly hand away from his precious garments like a common fly.

"Keep still, elf, or your midget-friend dies." The orc cutting Legolas' cloak kicked the elven head so that it faced the dwarf, who had on a mask of defiant terror as another orc pressed a blade into his neck. Legolas immediately ceased his frantic struggling and grimaced as the orc held up the embroidery and waved it in front of the elven face. All thoughts of vengeance rushed to the back of his head as he twisted his face into stony impassiveness. The orc leaned down and grinned in his face, blowing its foul breath into his face. Legolas reared his head back and struck the offending orc, clashing their two foreheads together with so much force that the orc toppled over, grasping the cloth tightly in its unsightly gnarled fingers.

"Búdreg! By Incánus, what is going on here?"

"The elf pushed me over, Ashgûl."

"That is _Captain_ to you, Búdreg. What lies stream through your teeth now? You always were a clumsy weakling subject to tormenting from our _prisoners_. But you have gone too far. The elf cannot have pushed you over, unless your knots are useless. Is that what it is? Your knots are useless?"

"No, no, Captain, it is not so."

"Then what is it? Should I send you off to our Lord so _he_ can suck the truth out of you?"

"No, Captain, there is no need. I… merely tripped over my feet. I seem to be doing that very often these days, don't I." The orc called Búdreg sounded nervous and fearful.

"Good orcling, Búdreg. Now go send that piece of trash to the messengers, lest I run you through with my sword." The orc called Ashgûl unsheathed his sword menacingly, glared at the lesser orc and stumped away.

"_Good orcling, Búdreg. _I'd like to run him through with my _own_ sword. I want to gouge his eyes out with my fingers and feed them to his pet warg…" the rant faded as he ran towards a group of orcs.

The orc's bloodied dagger shone merrily and seductively in the grass where the orc had fallen over.

---

---

_A/N: Well, true to my words, it was a miserable update. I tried._

In other words, I know that Aragorn would have struggled, but really, what would you expect to happen if his friends weren't around, he was surrounded by orcs and he couldn't even reach his sword, let alone bend his limbs?

Also, I'm slowly drifting away from canon. I know. But I'm getting very rusty on my meager Lord of the Rings facts. Review and tell me if I went way too far.

If it's something to do with the characters, don't bother, because this is how I have always viewed the characters. My opinions can be very strange. Trust me, I'm well aware of that.

No notes this chapter, because I've forgotten who reviewed in between. Slap me, someone.

**Thanks for bearing with me all the way through this chapter. Hah.**

_kindly review._


	6. Chapter VI

**Corruption**

By iced1

**Chapter VI**

"My lord!" An elf rushed through the doors of King Thranduil's study. The elf's raven hair was mussed, wisps of hair flying out of the braids.

Thranduil's desk was a tidy arrangement of unsigned decrees, unfinished letters and stacks of elvish scripture. In the very center of the desk, lying beside the king's elbow, was a scrap of parchment filled with small drawings of scraggly poultry, shapes and outlines of blobs. The king's head was propped up by his left hand. His left hand held a quill, and was slowly making it's way across the parchment.

"My lord!" The visitor now stood in front of the desk, his form shaking the king from his thoughts.

"Good morning…" the king made a vague gesture at the other elf, trying to summon a name from his memory.

"Erundur, sire."

"Ah, yes, good morning Erundur. What can I do for you?"

"My lord, the main gate is in chaos. Screaming, sire, shrill yells resounding throughout the arch! The Commander has sent me to escort you to the gates. We are hoping that you will be able to restore order."

The King pushed aside all thoughts of his son's latest mission and followed Erundur out of the castle. They passed out of the stone walls, passed through the archery fields, the orchards, and reached the scout tower near the main gate.

True to Erundur's word, there was chaos around the gate. A wailing crowd steadily grew as the king strode to the edge of the mass of elves.

"_Dartho_! Hold!" The crying stopped as soon as Thranduil raised his voice. "What is this nonsense?"

"Let the king pass." At Erundur's call, the crowd parted, clearing a trail to the gate. Thranduil strode through the two groups of elves, Erundur and the Commander in tow, stopping before the great iron gate.

"Sire, allow me." The commander stepped past the king, stooped, slipped one slender arm through the gate, pulling an arrow from the ground. He stared at it for a second, before passing the arrow to the king, his face a ghostly white.

The king snatched the arrow from the commander, ripping off the gray cloth from the arrow shaft. He flipped it over and gasped, for on the edge of the muddied cloth was a beautiful and fancy elven scripture, embroidered with silver thread. There was no mistaking the sign of the Royal House.

"The army is to be ready for departure tomorrow morning."

---

Arien guided the vessel carrying the fruit of Laurelin away from the skies as Tilion and the fruit of Telperion rose into the sky. The plain was shrouded in near-darkness, the only light coming from the Moon.

The fires from the orcs' camp had extinguished and no creature moved.

"Aragorn, _tollen i l_, it is time," Legolas hissed into the night air. There was no response from the man.

'A bit louder? No.' Calling any louder would be foolish. 'calling out will only wake the beasts.' The elf shuffled in a half circle on his side until his head reached the man.

During the afternoon, the prisoners had been placed together. Aragorn and Gimli had been lifted and dumped unceremoniously close to the elf, as Legolas was the closest to the camps, and the most in the open. Fortunately for the three of them, the orcs did not notice the blade glinting in the sunlight. Neither did they tie the dwarf, elf and man to posts by their wrists. Instead, they tied them by their ankles, which kept them from being able to stand and run, or cut through the rope that tied them in place.

"Estel!" Legolas knocked his forehead into the man's stomach.

"What," Aragorn hissed.

"Now is the time. Roll over so that I can saw through your bonds." Legolas scooted back to where he had hidden the blade earlier that day beneath a clump of dead grass. He closed his mouth around the handle, grimacing at the taste. He scooted his body back and spat the dagger out of his mouth.

"Estel, I told you to turn over." Legolas smiled to himself as the man obeyed. He carefully picked the dagger's handle up again, and bent his knees slightly so that the edge of the blade touched the rope tying Aragorn's wrists together.

"The knot," whispered Aragorn.

"What difference is there in which part of the rope I sever?" Legolas whispered back, annoyed at having to drop the dagger once more.

"We need rope to tie our wrists back together. Where do you think we're going to get it?"

"Right." Legolas picked the dagger up in his mouth once more and touched the blade to center of the knot. He tilted his head back, running the length of the blade across the knot before moving his head back into its original position. Nothing happened. He applied a bit of pressure and a few strands of rope began to split.

---

"Estel, dig a hole and hide the bits of rope from the knot."

"Don't think I haven't done that already, elf."

"Be quiet and let's get that lump of a dwarf free of his wrist bonds."

Legolas and Aragorn both twisted themselves around and scooted their bodies in the direction of the sleeping dwarf. It was a good three hours later, and both man and elf had both arms free. It had taken Legolas two hours to slice through the knot and at least ten minutes for the human to gain control of his hands again.

"I can't reach him, Legolas."

"Nor can I."

"Just leave him. He'd ruin our plans anyway."

"Such kind words from a king."

"I will choose to ignore that, elf. Now take the dagger and slip it into your boots before we retie your wrists. The orcs are less likely to search you."

There was a pause.

"Estel? What plans?"

---

---

_A/N Exactly two weeks. So I do live up to my promises. I think this story will be finished in about seven more chapters. Depends if I suddenly decide to add something in, like I did with Thranduil. I have the whole story planned out mentally._

_I know my descriptions went a bit iffy. Just bear with me._

I just want you readers to know that I have no idea what a 'normal knot' is. I don't know my knots.

Also, thanks a _ton_ to **Deana**, for staying with me from the beginning of this story up till now. I love you (:

Oh, and to **Jia** and **WickedFantasies**, but I actually know you two.

To the other reviewers, thanks.

_Kindly Review_


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